South Korean army K9 Thunder 155mm Self Propelled Howitzers take part in the Armed Forces Day rehearsal at the Seongnam military airport, outskirts of Seoul, Sept 29, 2003. (KIM JAE-HWAN / AFP)
HONG KONG – As another deal with Poland takes South Korea’s annual arms exports to a fresh record high, experts foresee the country further enhancing its competitive advantage to achieve its goal of being among the world’s ranking weapons suppliers.
Through the contract with Poland, South Korea has found a competitive niche because it can provide cutting-edge weapons systems in quantity, quality and within a short time frame, said Go Myong-hyun, senior fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.
“The reason why South Korea has found this niche is because the United States and other traditionally well-known military weapons systems suppliers have neglected the production of land systems in favor of sea-based or air-based systems,” said Go.
South Korea’s Hanwha Aerospace Co on Nov 4 signed a $3.55 billion deal with Poland to export the multiple launch rocket systems, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, or DAPA, under the South Korean Ministry of National Defense.
The sales agreement in relation to Chunmoo 230 millimeter multiple rocket launchers was signed as a follow-up to a framework contract inked last month.
The reason why South Korea has found this niche is because the United States and other traditionally well-known military weapons systems suppliers have neglected the production of land systems in favor of sea-based or air-based systems.
Go Myong-hyun, Senior Fellow, Asan Institute for Policy Studies
It raised South Korea’s total arms exports this year to $17 billion, more than double from last year’s figure of $7.25 and marking an all-time high in the country’s annual exports of weapons, according to the ministry’s statement. The contract with Poland accounts for $12.4 billion of the total.
In August, South Korea exported 980 K2 main battle tanks and 648 K9 howitzers to. It also exported 48 FA-50 light attack aircraft to Poland in the following month.
"Arms exports are very important militarily in terms of state-to-state sharing of weapons systems, mutual military support and the strengthening of security partnerships," the ministry said.
DAPA Minister Eom Dong-hwan said the export of Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems is another key achievement of cooperation between defense companies and the government.
“I deeply appreciated the contributions of the domestic defense industry to the national economy and security,” Eom said. “The government will guarantee that active support will be provided so that these companies’ exports can be carried out smoothly.”
The rapid growth in South Korea’s defense exports this year was a result of the strong will of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration to foster the defense sector as a national strategic industry that will promote the growth of future competitiveness, the ministry said.
In August, Yoon said he aims to push South Korea into becoming one of the top four global arms exporters, while turning the defense industry into a strategic powerhouse.
South Korea is now the world’s eighth largest arms exporter, after United States, Russia, France, China, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Its share of the global arms export market is about 2.8 percent in the 2017-21 period.
Noting that the contract with Poland is of great significance to South Korea’s arms exports, given the size of the deal, Lee Sang-ho, professor of international politics and strategy in the Department of Political Science at South Korea’s Daejeon University, said he expects to see more countries in Europe favoring South Korean defense supplies owing to their cost effectiveness.
For example, Norway signed an option contract with Hanwha Aerospace to purchase four more K9 self-propelled howitzers and eight ammunition resupply vehicles for delivery over the next two years, South Korea’s Aju Business Daily reported on Nov 8.
The K9 user community now includes Norway, Poland, Turkey, India, Finland, Estonia, Australia and Egypt.
Lee from Daejeon University said South Korea’s arms export is more about business rather than politics because the country hopes to capitalize and maximize the potential of this industry as it has been proven to be a surprising and very lucrative export opportunity.
South Korea’s overall exports shrank 5.7 percent from a year earlier to $52.48 billion in October, recording the first reduction in two years since October 2020, according to data released on Nov 1.
“For Koreans, we see this as another revenue stream,” said Lee, adding that he does not think that Russia would be overly upset with South Korea’s arms export to Poland, which has been providing military aid to Ukraine.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned of negative consequences for bilateral relations if Seoul sent arms to Ukraine. In response, Yoon said South Korea has never provided lethal weapons to Ukraine, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Go from the Asan Institute for Policy Studies said the challenge for South Korea is clear as traditional weapons export powerhouses like Germany and the US may catch up.
“It looks like it is going to take a while and there is no certainty regarding whether this demand we are seeing right now will remain in the future,” said Go.
Contact the writer at kelly@chinadailyapac.com